For those who’re about to start college, particularly those who’ve been overtly sheltered by their parents, maybe there are a few lessons in ‘Roommates’ worth noting:
- Do not do someone else’s assignments
- Do not pay for someone else (unless the amount is inconsequential)
- Do not resort to violence or arson to solve things
Directed by Chandler Levack, ‘Roommates’ is a cautionary college comedy about Devon (Sadie Sandler), an awkward freshman hoping to find a best friend and begin an exciting new chapter of her life. She asks the cool, pretty Celeste (Chloe East) to be her roommate. What begins as a fun friendship soon turns into a nightmare as Celeste starts manipulating, exploiting, and humiliating Devon in subtle, devious ways.
“Switching roommates is a last resort. The school allows that only in extreme situations. She’d have to be threatening your life…”
Poor Devon soon realizes getting rid of Celeste is not going to be easy. Their passive-aggressive relationship steadily deteriorates until Devon finally reaches her breaking point. Their bizarre roommate saga becomes something of a campus legend, recounted to feuding freshmen Luna (Storm Reid) and Auguste (Ivy Wolk) by their eccentric dean, Dr. Schilling (Sarah Sherman), who once lived in the very same dorm as Devon.
While it’s not spelled out loud until the climactic moments, many early on scenes subtly establish some of Celeste’s growing resentment against Devon stem from the fact she has a healthy loving family. Devon shares a close, nurturing and easy relationship with her parents Hannah (Natasha Lyonne) and Brian (Nick Kroll), and is practically best-friends with her younger brother Alex (Aidan Langford). On the other hand, Celeste’s folks are a no show.
Sadie Sandler is convincing as the underconfident, shy Devon, although she is keen on shedding her wallflower status at college and making more friends. This, of course, leads her to act against her better judgment just to please her peers. Ironically, some of Roommates’ most entertaining moments are those where Devon is simply having regular college experiences: rushing to the college canteen with her new friends so they don’t miss breakfast, chatting with a cute guy at a party, or just hanging out with her brother.
Chloe East does being some genuine “roommate from hell” energy to Celeste, but the script never really allows her interactions with Devon to hit with enough impact. In fact, the biggest problem with ‘Roommates’ is that it never commits to either being an over-the-top comedy or a dark psychological drama about how emotionally exhausting it can be to share your space with someone constantly trying to sabotage you.
Some films/shows of course successfully strike that balance and earn the label of a dark comedy (think ‘Beef’), but ‘Roommates’ never quite gets there. It’s neither outrageously funny nor dark enough to leave a lasting impression, and on top of that, it’s pace is just all over the place. Despite its 1-hour 47-minute runtime, which isn’t that long, it took me three sittings over the course of a week to finish the film. The positive side? At least I was invested enough to find out what happens to Devon and Celeste in the end and didn’t just give up on it.
The soundtrack of ‘Roommates’ deserves some credit for frequently adding a burst of energy to scenes that the screenplay alone struggles to elevate. One amusing moment comes towards the end, when Devon performs a karaoke song whose lyrics hilariously echo her predicament, allowing the music to do much of the comedic heavy lifting.
Anyway, overall, this made for a decent one-time watch, and who knows, you might end up liking it a lot more than I did… or not.
Watch Roommates on Netflix.
Find the writer on Twitter | Instagram
Read Next: Teach You a Lesson S1 Review: Gratifying Action-Fantasy Against Bullying
